High Court Voids Vouchers

COLORADO The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s “pilot” voucher program is “unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt.” The court found that the 2003 voucher law violates the state constitution’s local control provisions, forcing school districts to “turn over a portion of their locally raised funds to nonpublic schools over whose instruction [they] have no control.”
The accountability issue has twice led Colorado voters to reject voucher-related ballot initiatives, reports Colorado Education Association (CEA) staffer Deborah Fallin. “Wherever voucher plans do exist in this country,” she says, “they have been done legislatively, not by a direct vote of the people.”

The plaintiffs in this suit, parents of children affected by the voucher plan, received support from an alliance of pro-public education groups. CEA and NEA were lead counsel in the case.

Is Florida Next in Line?

FLORIDA In a suit supported by the Florida Education Association and other pro-public education groups, a state appeals court has struck down a 1999 voucher law allowing students from struggling public schools to attend private or religious schools with taxpayer money. The court ruled that this
program violates a state constitutional provision specifying that no state revenue “shall ever be taken from the public treasury” to “directly or indirectly support” sectarian institutions. The case now goes to the Florida Supreme Court.

Charters Go to Public Vote

WASHINGTON As November Election Day nears, Washington Education Association members and other public school supporters are campaigning hard for a “reject” vote in Referendum 55. A “no” vote would enable voters to repeal a law allowing establishment of at least 45 new charter schools, operated without many of the rules governing regular public schools.

Diverting $100 million from existing public schools into experimental charter schools isn’t the answer,” says Vancouver teacher Fern Tresvan. “We should invest in proven solutions that will improve the quality of all schools.”

Costing Out Education

NEBRASKA School funding “adequacy and equity” (A&E) is a simple concept: You cost out what it takes to meet legislated educational standards and to provide a quality education, set aside sufficient cash on a regular basis, and fix funding inequities among districts.

With NEA media and research assistance, the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) is working to educate voters and state legislators why A&E’s time has come. Nebraska schools, hard hit by recent state cutbacks, deserve a rational funding mechanism, argues NSEA Executive Director Jim Griess. “Nebraska has never done an official study costing out the needs of schools,” he says. “Funding is now based only on political expediency.”

Big Boost for Arkansas Kids

ARKANSAS The Arkansas Education Association worked with legislators to raise sufficient revenue and appropriate the largest increase in school funding in more than 25 years. Under the school funding act alone, the state will boost education funds this school year to approximately $391.5 million.

More Good Budget News

CALIFORNIA The California Teachers Association (CTA) reported passage of a 2004–05 budget that boosts K–14 spending by more than $2 billion from current levels and includes full funding for class size reduction and special education.
There’s still pain in this budget, says CTA President Barbara E. Kerr, “but I congratulate the governor and legislature for compromising and passing a state budget that provides cost-of-living and student growth increases for all K–12 schools and community colleges.”

Nevada at a Breaking Point

NEVADA Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) members are campaigning for a November ballot initiative to make the state’s annual per-pupil expenditure “equal or exceed” the national average. Nevada now ranks 45th in school funding, says NSEA Executive Director Ken Lange. “We want to ensure that classrooms crowded to the breaking point and teachers overextended to the breaking point are given priority in the legislature.”

Superintendent Sent Packing

NEW MEXICO Teacher and ESP members of the Roswell Education Association worked with their community to successfully force the ouster of Superintendent Manny Rodriguez, who, among other things, made “demeaning and degrading” remarks to employees and prompted “many quality educators and staff to leave,” reports UniServ consultant Andres Becerra.

Some 600 Roswell district staffers signed a no-confidence petition and backed a community-wide drive to
send Rodriguez packing. It all came to a head at a July 27 school board meeting, where 18 administrators made it clear they’d quit if the board didn’t discharge the superintendent “for cause” on a variety of malfeasance charges. The board then voted to accept Rodriguez’s resignation.